Caleb's Gluten Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I asked my brother, Caleb, to write a guest post on these biscuits and he said, “hell no.” Frankly, it’s probably better that way. A post by Cal would be laced with profanity and wouldn’t contain any actual measurements. You would all abandon me.

Umm before we get started with the recipe, I have to say THANK YOU for all the sweet Facebook messages, texts, and calls I’ve gotten about my “Random Thoughts.” All the love feels so amazing! This week has been hell (Perry is feeling much better, finally), but having all these lovely comments to read has made things so much better, so THANK YOU!

Onto Caleb’s biscuits! Every time Justin and I visit Florida, we beg Cal to make these for us (and he always does because he’s an excellent little brother). He doesn’t measure ANYTHING. It blows my mind. These turn out perfect every single time.

Me and Cal

He made a copy of the recipe he sort of follows and wrote his own comments. For example, where it says “3/4 cups of milk,” Caleb crossed it out and simply wrote, “bullshit.” Fortunately, I’ve watched him make these enough times that I knew what they were supposed to look like.

Cal's recipe

I made these for Easter dinner and they were fantastic. I actually measured things, so there are real measurements below. I have to say, his are still (somehow) better. He just has the magic touch.

Here’s what you need (from the recipe above and the mind of Caleb Obler) . . .

One box of gluten free bisquick (see picture below)

3 cups of milk (I used 2%)

1 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp salted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups fresh shred sharp cheddar 

For the topping:

3 tbsp salted butter, melted

½ tbsp. dried parsley

½ tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Stir together right before you are ready to spread on the biscuits (see directions below).

Here’s what you do . . .

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a bowl, combine the entire box of bisquick, milk, garlic powder, butter, and cheese. Stir to combine, but it does not have to be perfectly smooth.

3. On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, drop a handful sized drop of batter. Do not try to form it – you want little peaks to form on the top of your biscuits.

4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until you start to see the little peaks brown on top. You want an even browning.

What the biscuits should look like before you put the topping on them.

5. Once you see the browning on the biscuits, take out the biscuits and with a pastry brush, spread the butter/parsley/garlic/salt mixture over the biscuits.

6. Bake for another 5-7 minutes.

7. Remove and eat warm. Enjoy!!

These are some of my favorite things and they were a hit at Easter. They do NOT taste gluten free (aka, they taste awesome).

Many thanks to Cal for sharing his recipe and promising to open a food truck with me if my life falls apart. Our food truck would kick serious ass.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

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Random Thought Tuesday

Ya'll ready for this?!

Ew. This does not look like the pretty pictures I see online

1. Can someone please provide me with a healthy "green" smoothie recipe? Every time I make one, it looks like someone threw up in my cup. I'm convinced all the pictures of green smoothies online are doctored to be a gorgeous green color.

2. I recently discovered this phenomenon called oil pulling. Basically, you swish coconut oil in your mouth for 15 minutes each day and it's supposed to clear out all these toxins in your body. I was 100% convinced this was going to be life changing. Day 1: I felt nauseous, but assumed it was the toxins leaving my body. Day 2: I threw up (too much throw up in one post?). I have officially given up on oil pulling.

3. On a similar note, someone needs to invent gluten free saltines.

4. We took Piper for a 3 mile walk last week. And by walk I mean I carried her for at least half of it because she laid down and refused to get up again. I'm not sure if I'm more embarrassed by that or the fact that I put her in an Easter dress on Sunday.

5. Are you all familiar with sock buns? You essentially put a sock in your hair and roll your hair over it and it makes this beautiful bun. I became obsessed with this last week (poor Justin). I used this Christmas sock with green stripes (you have to cut a hole in a sock). It totally worked, but you can see the green stripes through my beautiful sock bun. Only AFTER I had cut a hole in my sock did Justin tell me you can purchase hair-colored donuts specifically to make sock buns. Sigh.

6. We have approximately 2 weeks left of law school and my motivation is at an all time low. I was in Criminal Procedure the other day and we were discussing "attenuation of taint" (Google it if you really want to know what that is) and I started to giggle like a 5 year old. Again, I'm embarrassed for myself.

I will explain why this is relevant to #7 soon

7. My backup plan if this whole law school thing doesn't work out is to open a food truck with my youngest brother (Cal). It would be a gluten free food truck with a smoker. And we would try to sell alcohol, though Justin says this isn't possible. This idea is clearly becoming more appealing as I Googled prime food truck locations in D.C. last week.

8. I am 99% certain that I will cry hysterically in front of our mover because I get emotional about change. I am 100% certain that Justin partly chose our mover because this guy appeared to be capable of handling an emotional woman. Keep in mind, he toured the house during my oil pulling experience, so Justin likely chose well.

9. We FINALLY finished House of Cards Season 2 (I know, we're like a million weeks behind) and OMG. I fully intend to stalk Kevin Spacey in D.C. when I need a break from studying for the bar this summer. Although, did you know that because Netflix owns the rights to Frank Underwood, you can't take pictures of him or with him when he's "dressed in character"? How do I know if he's Frank Underwood or Kevin Spacey wearing a suit?! Life problem.

One of my precious children

10. I'm never having children. I've felt this way for awhile, but it was reemphasized at 11:30 p.m. yesterday in the ER vet with our cat who had a bad (read: violent) reaction to a sedative we gave him to take him to the vet for an exam. And again at 6:30 a.m. when we went to pick him up and pay the bill. He's fine, by the way. He's currently rolling around upstairs high on whatever sedative they gave him at the ER last night.

11. We've gotten to a level of chaos and stress that Justin can see when the crazy comes into in my eyes and will just go get me a glass of wine. This is an excellent trait in a husband.

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Strawberry Margarita

We booked movers this week. A margarita was absolutely necessary

Life is completely chaotic and hectic right now. We are moving in a month (a freaking MONTH) to D.C. (OMG) and it's becoming a struggle to open a casebook for school, let alone read it (ew).

I came home from school the other day and wanted a margarita. We had 0 margarita ingredients except tequila, triple sec, and fresh strawberries.

I was desperate. I worked with what I had and it turned out GREAT.

Or maybe it didn't and I just wanted a margarita that badly. Try making one and let me know:

Here's what you need . . .

1 oz. = 1 shot glass

2-3 oz. of strawberry simple syrup (recipe below)
2 oz. of silver tequila
1 oz. of triple sec
1 oz. coconut water
ice

Here's what you do . . .

1. To make your simple syrup, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and a 1/2 cup of water in a pot. Melt the sugar, then take off the heat. Blend sugar water mix with strawberries.

2. Combine all your ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Add more simple syrup if you prefer a sweet cocktail. I don't love super sweet cocktails, so 2 oz. was perfect for me.

3. SHAKE IT! Pour. If you hate strawberry seeds, strain it with a mesh strainer. 

4. ENJOY! I think this would also be excellent garnished with a little fresh lime, but we didn't have them and I had no intention of leaving the house to buy them.

Easy! Delicious (I think)! Cinco de Mayo is soon, so you should start prepping now. 

PS: How cute are our Easter placemats? They were in our Easter basket from Justin's dad and stepmom and I LOVE them. 

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My Favorite Taco Recipe

Are my photography skills getting worse? It's entirely possible.

I have zero artistic skill whatsoever, so I apologize for my terrible photos. My grandmother on my father's side was an artist - she painted beautiful watercolors - and I remember she desperately wanted me or one of my brothers to have excellent artistic skills.

None of us did. Or do (to my knowledge), which is evidenced by my terrible photographs and my paintings of animals that look like trees.

Anyway, onto tacos!

I LOVE tacos. Justin and I make this recipe at least once every two weeks. It's easy, cheap, and delicious.

You can customize your tacos however you want. Sometimes we use guac, sometimes we use avocado (when I'm in the mood to deals with cutting one) - it's up to you.

Here's what you need . . .

Taco shells (most hard corn taco shells are GF)
1 lb of ground chicken, turkey, or beef
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp taco seasoning (I use Trader Joe's brand)
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes w/green chiles (see pic below)
1 can of black beans, rinsed
Toppings of choice (we use cheese, shredded lettuce, and light sour cream)

Here's what you do . . .

1. Saute meat in some olive oil on medium-high heat with your onion and seasonings until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.

2. Add beans and tomatoes and turn heat to low. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes so all the flavors soak in.

3. Assemble your tacos and enjoy!

See, I told you it was simple. And there are always plenty of leftovers for more tacos or a taco salad.

Ugh. Can someone teach me to take better photos? These just don't do these tacos justice.

Have a wonderful weekend! The weather in NC is gorgeous and I intend to take full advantage by reading case books on our balcony :)

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